Gluten-Free Recipes: Lunches Featuring Salads and Vegetables

Munching on meal-sized salads can be super satisfying for those on a gluten-free diet, and these meals are really fast to prepare, especially if you use precooked meat. Leave out the meat altogether to make your salad vegetarian or extra thrifty. These snazzy salads taste like much more work than they are.

Pasta Salad Italiano

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time:Less than 15 minutes

Yield:2 servings

1 cup gluten-free rotini pasta

1/4 cup diced salami or pepperoni

1/4 cup diced tomato

2 tablespoons sliced black olives

2 tablespoons diced green bell pepper

2 tablespoons pine nuts

1/4 cup canned cannellini beans, drained

1/4 cup diced mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup Italian dressing

Parmesan cheese for garnish

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta, rinse it in cold water, and place it in a medium bowl.

Slightly undercook your gluten-free pasta to keep it firm. Overcooked, it tends to get mushy and fall apart. Rinse the pasta in cold water after boiling it to wash off extra starch. Gluten-free pasta isn’t great the next day, so if you don’t think you’ll eat it all in one sitting, cut the amount of ingredients to make a smaller salad.

Cashew Roasted Chicken Salad

Prep time: 10 minutes

Yield: 1 serving

2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

1 cup shredded cooked chicken

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 teaspoon capers

2 or 3 leaves of lettuce, torn

1/2 cup chopped cashews

In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Add the cooked chicken, celery, parsley, and capers. Mix well.

Capers are small, green, berry-like flower buds that add a nice, tangy flavor that pairs well with lemon. You can find them in small jars near the olives in the grocery store. You can skip this ingredient if you don’t have any.

Taco Salad

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: Less than 10 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

1 cup (about 3 ounces) ground beef

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

3 cups shredded lettuce

1 tomato, diced

1 avocado, diced

2 tablespoons sliced black olives

1/4 cup canned corn, drained

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup salsa

1 cup crushed corn tortilla chips

Drizzle of ranch dressing

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Brown the ground beef with garlic salt and chili powder, breaking apart the meat with a large spoon or spatula as it cooks.

Drain any fat from the pan. Pat the beef with a paper towel to absorb any remaining grease.